Before Doc Savage and The Shadow ruled the pulp racks, there was a hero who really broke the mold of what to expect from those days: Norvell Page’s The Spider. He’s back – albeit as a reprint – in the collection THE SPIDER: ROBOT TITANS OF GOTHAM, and it’s pretty jaw-dropping to see how much violence was used in these stories. We’re not just talking basic fights, but full-on gun battles with people being set on fire or attacked by vampire bats.

Baen – known pretty much as a sci-fi publisher – acquired the rights to republish The Spider’s adventures in glorious trade paperbacks, as opposed to some overpriced reprints. What really made the purchase of this book was, of course, the cover artwork by none other than Steranko.

From glancing at the table of contents, I expected three Spider novels, but what you get are two Spiders and a third tale dealing with a character named Dr. Skull. Nowhere on the book is this stated, but this is a small quibble. The two Spider stories are so packed with brutal action, you won’t mind not having a third one.

The first novel is SATAN’S MURDER MACHINE, which is where this anthology gets its title. Dick Wentworth – aka The Spider – is a well-to-do millionaire who lives a double life with the help of not only his Indian manservant, but also his in-on-the-secret girlfriend Nina. There’s been a rash of robberies in the high-society crowd, with the cops being tipped off that the robber is none other then Wentworth himself.

Wentworth dodges the police’s questions, while also – in disguise as The Spider – trying to find the real culprits who are framing him. Nita gets into the action by dressing up as The Spider herself to throw the cops off of Wentworth’s trail. As Wentworth digs and digs is when the discovery is made that giant robots are attacking the city. Now this is pulp action! It never slows down and literally flies by so fast, you’ll go right into the following novel, DEATH REIGN OF THE VAMPIRE KING.

In this one, it’s The Spider vs. The Bat Man. (I’m guessing that a man named Bob Kane was probably a fan back in the day.) The Bat Man is attacking a city with his trained vampire bats. That’s pretty much the whole plot of this tale, with The Spider trying to figure out who this Bat Man is. The Spider devises a way to track the bats to their secret hideaway, but this causes Wentworth to be captured, be tortured and run into a woman who is under The Bat Man’s spell and wants to exact revenge on the man who killed someone close to her.

Of course, that person is The Spider. As in MACHINE, The Spider is Suspect No. 1 for the police. Again, the action flows so nicely, and it’s pretty amazing how brutal these stories are for their time. Doc Savage, this is not.

Closing out the collection is a story called THE OCTOPUS: THE CITY CONDEMNED TO HELL, which deals with Dr. Skull, who will battle not only some mysterious enemy called The Skull Crusher, but also The octopus. It’s a nice-enough story to close things out, but a bit of a letdown for those expecting another high-octane ride that is The Spider.

Look for the money Baen is charging for this top-notch presentation, and you won’t feel cheated. The next trade collection is THE SPIDER: CITY OF DOOM, slated for June 2008 and consisting of three Spider-only novels. Good thing, because now I’m hooked on finding more of his tales. –Bruce Grossman

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